NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Mayor Eric Adams seemed baffled by the critics who have called for his removal amid his ongoing legal issues, stating at his first press conference in weeks Monday that he does not understand the logic of taking him from his position.
When he spoke to some of his colleagues and asked why they took a stance against him, Adams said that many cited the Justice Department’s move to dismiss the federal corruption charges against him.
“That's a reason to take away the mayor of the largest city in America? If that’s the standard, we are all in trouble,” Adams said. “If you can bypass the will of the people based on what people don’t like of an action, that’s not democracy.”
Adams claimed that many of those who have made the call are people running for office, people on the fringes and others who have been criticizing his administration’s policies for years.
“It’s amazing those who call themselves so Democratic [are] leading the charge that a mayor that wasn’t convicted of anything, a mayor that was doing the job, moving the city forward—it’s not like we failed in moving the city forward—they are saying we need to remove him,” the mayor said. “But why? And then those who are calling are going to take my spot. Come on.”
Those in favor of Adams being removed from office have put pressure on Gov. Kathy Hochul to exercise her power and do so, though she confirmed on Friday that she would keep the mayor in his position, invoking the choice of New Yorkers.
“Voters determine who they want or who they do not want to represent them in elective office,” Hochul said.
Despite this decision, the governor proposed a series of guardrails meant to curb the power of the mayor and increase oversight in New York City.
These include proposed legislation that would add a deputy for city affairs to the state inspector general; amend the City Charter to add protections for the DOI commissioner; litigate issues related to federal affairs to city council, the city comptroller and public advocate; and expand the state comptroller’s city oversight operation.
Adams spoke of his “great” relationship with Hochul and said he was not worried about removal “because [he] knew [he] did nothing wrong,” but noted that many of the guardrails proposed by the governor would still need to be passed into law.
“If you have to pass the law, that means right now, it’s not legally in place. And so the governor must make her decision to govern the state. I must make the decision to govern the city,” Adams said. “There’s going to be things we’re going to agree on. There’s going to be things we’re going to disagree on, but we’re going to come together.”
The federal indictment against Adams has not yet been officially dismissed, and while the mayor has stated that the prosecution has not removed his focus from running NYC, it has made the work more difficult.
“You have to still do it, but it doesn’t mean if there are issues in the way, it doesn’t make it more challenging,” he said.
Adams is preparing for a competitive mayoral primary and said that his reelection team is preparing a campaign website and that petitions will soon hit the streets.